Brand Spotlight: Adriano Goldschmied designs for Edwin Jeans

Another day another denim-infused project for Adriano Goldschmied “aka the godfather of denim” the Italian fashion designer chats with us about the upcoming relaunch of Edwin Jeans in North America.

Are you ready denim enthusiasts? This Fall 2017, 70-year old Japanese premium brand Edwin will be relaunching in North America. Known to be one of the original mass producers of jeans in Japan and often labeled ‘the Levi’s of Japan’ the label had been pretty quiet the last few years in North America, until now.

The new collection designed by Adriano at his studios in Downtown Los Angeles and led by Vince Gonzales a veteran fashion and brand-development executive will be ready to hit the retail floor this fall 2017. The collection (which, will include both men and women product) will be available at retailers Ron Herman and Union Made with retail prices ranging from $225.00 to $390.00.

Here we chat with both Adriano and Vince about how the collection came into fruition and the inspiration behind it.

Tell us a little bit about how the Ewin x Adriano line came into fruition.

Adriano: I have a very long relationship with Itochu, I was working with Itochu Milan when I developed my business in Italy. Since moving to America, I worked with their textile development division, creating a top-selling super stretch fabric made with Cupro, most widely used for the sexy jean. We have been building a very friendly business relationship for quite some time now. When Itochu acquired Edwin, they came to me with the idea of re-launching the Edwin brand to the North American market. I was in a pole position as a candidate to develop the concept and the re-launch of the brand. An important factor on top of my design experience, is that I’ve built many brands during my career, and I have experience in dealing with marketing, branding, and to create a winning team.

Vince: Edwin and Adriano have a long standing relationship through various deals, fabrics, design, etc. Basically to launch in North America, they wanted the best person they can find to design it. We have two icons, Edwin and Adriano, what could be better? It’s a perfect fit, no pun intended.

Edwin has historically been known as a men’s brand, this upcoming collection will include women’s, any thoughts on expanding to other markets?

Adriano: Edwin has an incredible history as the most powerful Japanese jean brand. They are known for their high quality and innovation in the classic jean. It was challenging for me to mix the DNA of Edwin with a different point of view, which is about the new generation of buyers in North America. We live in an era where it’s hard to distinguish what is designed for man, and what is designed for woman. I thought that it was a good opportunity to break this barrier, and to bring Edwin to cover the whole denim market. Even if the collection is designed for the needs of the American woman, it is still connected to the men’s collection and the brand DNA of Edwin. In my opinion, Edwin needs to be the future leader of denim. I don’t feel that it is the right time to change the nature of the brand into a lifestyle brand. Consumers today are demanding a high quality product, so we will continue to deliver high quality denim, because that is the product Edwin promises. Even if accessories is a hot category, it will only make sense if it is clearly related to the denim collection.

Vince: Not at the moment, we want to focus on developing the business in North America, with the possibility of expanding the women’s component globally within a couple of seasons.

When you are creating new collection, do you have specific ideas in mind? What was the inspiration for the upcoming Fall’17 and the Spring’18 collection?

Adriano: The customer I am thinking about is the modern consumer, who is very well educated and independent. When he/she spends the money for a product, they need to know what the story is, to know about the brand, to know about the method of production, and what is the philosophy of the brand. It is no question that Edwin for sure has a story to tell, but what for me is exciting, is about the story that we have to tell for the future. Fall ’17 Inspiration is about the functionality of common things and common items, that mostly are coming from the industrial and functional workwear, and the military stuff. No other items more than them are designed to function and to be durable and high quality. Spring ’18 Inspiration continues the story about workwear, developing special colors, special fabrics, and unique details.

Vince: Holiday ‘17 Inspiration was more of a business necessity to try to get product back into the market quickly, so that we can gain traction to start selling S/S ’18.